. Please feelfree to browse the site for more information, as well as back issues and other downloads as they become available.The

BITS Task System

, although modified to include Traveller T20 difficulty classes, has been provided withpermission by

British Isles Traveller Support (BITS)

. Its presence here does not constitute any challenge to therights for this system, and we gratefully acknowledge Dominic Mooney and Andy Lilly for their generosity inallowing our use of this system to allow future adventures to be written in such a manner as to be more useful toall published Traveller rules sets.For more information on BITS, check out their website at http://www.bits.org.uk/The

Letter From The Editor Letter From The Editor Letter From The Editor Letter From The Editor

Greetings, Fellow Sophonts:Welcome to the Christmas issue of

Stellar Reaches

!As is often the case with my writing, the articles tend to be long and complex. The Hegemony, Republic, and Duchyseries brings everything up-to-date for the Imperial part of the sector. Two military adventures are outlined here:one has the PCs fighting a resource war on behalf of the Bwaps against the local humans, and the other is a ‘soup-to-nuts’ space campaign against a notable Vargr pirate base. A final adventure is not tied to a particular place, buta particular situation: an escape of a world whose star is about to go nova!In detail:With Hegemony, Republic and Duchy Part III, we conclude our historical survey of the Imperial Empty Quarter,bringing our chronology from the end of the Imperial Civil War to the current date, 993 Imperial. Cultural changessweep the Six Subsectors, and then surge thru again and again, leaving their mark on the local inhabitants.Important turning points include the appointment of an Vargr Archduke in the neighbouring Domain of Antares,The Long Peace between the Imperium and the Protectorate, renewed hostilities between Hindus and Muslims,the Hebrin Rebellion, and the Panos Settlement.The upper half of The Empty Quarter sector may be described in future issues, time permitting.Water War describes a dryworld conflict between a water-rich Bwap settlement, and their human neighbours whohave plans for all that Bwap water. Outlines of the military forces are describes, and the Bwap settlement of Apfatwa E-pabeb is described in some detail.Daybreak is a description of a world facing extinction in the face of an imminent nova – and the PCs who are on theworld at the time. This story is not tied to a particular world, but may be put into play wherever and whenever theReferee chooses to do so. The escape and the imminent aftermath of this event the focus of this episode, butfurther ramifications are in the hands of the Referee. The PCs will have to find a way to get to their ship fast,getting past the panicked masses and the crazy situation at the starport. Once in space, they will have to deal withthe increased radiation as the world burns below them. Moreover, this is the 55

th

century: not all novas arenatural, and the Imperium is very interested in what the PCs said and did during the world’s final days…Shutdown is an extensive space adventure, allowing the Players and the Referee to live through the creation,training, and deployment of a powerful starmerc force against an important Vargr pirate base. Referees shouldkeep in mind that the more the PCs make their men sweat in training, the less blood they’ll shed in thebattlespace. Opportunities for interpersonal/interspecies conflict abound, for the PCs to deal with. A side exercise,involving a daring raid on the world in question, is also provided. Specifications of all the starships involved areprovided.The Forsaken is provided as a tribute to the tough-as-nails Native Americans of the region, as well as to the Godthat many of them serve.Reading ahead,Alvin W. PlummerEditor,